Dave and his Bike

July 18th 2022

First day on my own. Not brilliant as I much prefer the chatter with Jane and the company we’ve had over the last couple of weeks. 

Ange & Steve dropped me back off in Nontron and reminded me to start my Garmin. So I did. 

Leisurely start due to the hour’s drive to get there, so I didn’t turn a pedal until 0945am. When I did it was straight uphill. 5km of climbing in the first 6km to be precise. It wasn’t steep though, and I quite enjoyed riding tempo in a small gear. A bit of surface dressing work was under way but I ignored the ‘déviation’ signs and was waved through by the workers. I’ll need to clean some tar from my frame no doubt. 

A lovely descent through the forests and more undulations brought me to Champagnac-de-Belair where I stopped for a coffee having covered only 18km. Lovely familiar Dordogne countryside through Condat where I crossed the D78 and headed to Agonac where I bought a couple of cold drinks and a sandwich. The heat was already building, but there was quite a bit of shade to help me. 

After Agonac I foolishly followed Google maps. Another cycle track which would have been a challenge on my mountain bike, let alone a loaded touring bike. At least it gave me an excuse to stop and eat my lunch. 

One plus point was the buzzard which landed three metres away whilst I was checking the map. Not a brilliant photo but…

So a change of plan. Follow the tarmac. I want to get home. Therefore easier surfaces but more climbing and descending got me to the outskirts of Perigueux where I spent about an hour in the air conditioning of McDonald’s working my way through an assortment of cold drinks and ice cream. It was only when I left that I realised how hot it actually was. 

During my pause at McD’s I had decided not to push too far today. It was tempting to get another 20km to La Douze to make tomorrow easier/shorter, but cycling in this heat isn’t clever and it should be 10 degrees cooler tomorrow. So a chain hotel 5km south of Perigueux it is. Big room. Big shower. Air conditioning. And a restaurant opposite. Which leaves me with 75km to go. Sounds less in English money (47 miles). 

It was too hot to stop and take photos. I’ll try harder tomorrow.